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Senate HELP Committee Holds Child Care Hearing
On Thursday, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing, "Restoring Integrity: Preventing Fraud in Child Care Assistance Programs." Committee Chair Senator Bill Cassidy, MD (R-LA), opened the proceedings by voicing concerns about...
Bipartisan Group Reintroduces Foster Care Legislation
Representative Don Bacon (R-NE) and Senators Deb Fischer (R-NE) and John Hickenlooper (D-CO) reintroduced their bicameral, bipartisan bill, the Foster Care Stabilization Act (HR 7419/S. 3802). The bill intends to ensure children awaiting foster care placement have...
CT: Inclusion for students with disabilities is mission of Connecticut’s 2026 Kid Governor
WTNH Friday was inauguration day for 2026 kid governor Tessa Hallinan and her cabinet. She was joined by more than 150 fifth-grade students and teachers, as well as local leaders, as she took her oath of office. “Many of you have come to support the kids who are up...
NE: Tuition breaks fall short, suspending young students moves ahead in Legislature
Nebraska Public Media Sen. Dave Murman, chair of the Education Committee, is the lead sponsor of a proposal to once again allow schools to suspend students in kindergarten (LB653) through second grade. That practice was prohibited in 2023, unless the student brings a...
TX; Texas increased special education funding. Now, the state has to decide where it will go
Houston Public Media Texas lawmakers last year increased funding for disabled students after decades of underfunding. Now, the state must figure out what equipment, training, and other services that $250 million will go toward. The Texas Education Agency is surveying...
WI: Education has seen unprecedented changes in Trump’s second term
Urban Milwaukee The day is almost over at Casimir Pulaski High School on Milwaukee’s south side. Most students are packing up their things to leave, but Sarah Lind is still helping a student struggling with her English homework. “So what’s different about these two...
COPAA Releases Report on Private School Choice Programs
As a thought leader committed to ensuring that students with disabilities and their families have all the information they need to make an informed choice, on Monday, COPAA released “Private School Choice Programs: Is There a Seat for Students with...
Labor-H Spending Bill Primed for Final Passage, IDEA Receives $20 M Bump
As reported last week, the House and Senate appropriators reached an agreement on the final text and accompanying Joint Explanatory Statements (Statement) for the remaining spending bills for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 which includes the Labor, Health and Human Services,...
ED Drops Legal Appeal of K-16 DEI Guidance
The Trump Administration has dropped its appeal of a federal court ruling that blocked the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) anti–diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) campaign, leaving the lower court’s decision in effect. The dispute arose when ED issued a Dear...
For students with disabilities, the Office for Civil Rights is often the last line of defense (OPINION)
K-12 Dive The path to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education will have a generational impact — eliminating the safeguards that have ensured all students have access to equitable, inclusive schools since the department’s founding in 1979. Specifically, the recent...